


Late Nights (ZADR Week Phase 3)

by mc1303



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25514095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mc1303/pseuds/mc1303
Summary: A very short drabble for the 7th day prompt of ZADR Week phase 3! The prompt was "late nights".
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22





	Late Nights (ZADR Week Phase 3)

Zim twirled a pen around in his hand. He’d hit a roadblock with this project and no amount of review through his notes with his PAK was helping. He glanced at the clock.

3:09 AM

Zim sighed, his antennae flicking up. He could hear Dib’s breathing was still as active as it had been hours before and he grimaced. He sighed, kicking off his blanket onto Gir, and moving up the stairs as quietly as he could. He peered around the frame of Dib’s door. Dib was facing the wall but Zim could see that Dib had kicked his own blankets off until they were halfway down his bed. Dib sighed heavy, tossing around in his bed until he found back in the same position as before. He was struggling to sleep and, once again, had foregone letting Zim know.

Zim could practically see the energy buzzing under Dib’s skin, the energy that he didn’t really have. He could almost hear the whirring fan as Dib’s brain worked at a hundred miles per hour, unable to slow down long enough to rest. Zim wasn’t sure what all was keeping Dib awake this time, but he knew that the constant tossing and turning and gruff huffs of disdain was annoying him. He walked into the room, seating himself on the bed. Dib cracked his eye open at him.

“Hey,” Dib greeted, his voice rough and gravelly. Zim cocked an antennae at him. Dib shut his eyes so he could try and rub away the tired burn. “What?”

“You can’t sleep again?”

“No.”

Zim stood, pulling Dib’s blanket over him. Dib chuckled as Zim started to roll him up in it. Zim picked him up, carrying him down to the garage. Dib snickered, his sleep deprivation making him giggly, and tried to elbow Zim when he almost cut the corner too close.

“Where are you taking me this time?” Dib asks.

“It’s a surprise,” Zim says. Gir spotted them and ran to catch up.

“We’re going on an adventure!” he cheered. Zim hastily shushed him. Unlike Dib, Gaz could sleep, and she was a force not to be reckoned with.

Zim watched Gir race towards the Voot. Gir popped the windshield up, scrambling inside and running around in circles inside the small space. Zim lifted them both up and into the Voot with his PAK. One PAK leg stretched out to hit the garage door’s button. Zim set Dib down on the loveseat. Gir jumped up to join him, looking outside the windshield like an excited puppy. The Voot hovered just above the ground until it was outside the garage door frame and then rose into the sky. It was fast, but not so much so that Dib was flung to the back of the Voot. Dib wiggled his arms free of the blanket burrito. He settled down against the wall, settling Gir in his lap while Zim set in a destination.

Dib tried to relax against the wall of the Voot. It was cold, growing colder thanks to the air outside, and uncomfortable against his back. He wanted to sleep, but he just wasn’t able to. It was an aggravating dilemma that he’d had to explain to Zim more than once why it was a problem. Zim hadn’t caught on very quickly. Irkens rarely slept at all so the concept itself was a little foreign to Zim. Grasping that it wasn’t the same as stasis, even if it shared some benefits or functions, hadn’t been any easier, either.

Dib had almost managed to fall asleep once or twice on the ride. It was less than ten minutes, but it felt like an hour to him by the time the Voot finally started to descend. Zim popped the windshield open, letting the perfect summer night air. Dib sighed, letting the slightly warm air hit his skin as it rushed into the Voot. Zim shook Dib’s knee.

“Look at the sky,” Zim instructed.

Dib looked out over the expanse of trees Zim had landed in front of. They were on some cliffside or massive hill, based on the distance between them and the trees below. But what really caught Dib’s eye was indeed the sky. Wherever Zim had taken him was far enough away from the city that it’s light pollution was gone. Dib couldn’t even see a speck of artificial light on the horizon. What he could see was illuminated entirely by the moon and stars. Dib gaped at the sight. He could see the millions and millions of white dots scattered across the mixing colors of blues and purples. He couldn’t stop the stupidly wide smile from stretching across his face.

Zim looked at him fondly, resting his head on his palm. He’d grown used to taking Dib out away the from the cities to see the sky for what it could truly be. Dib had been in the woods at night before plenty of times, but he was always distracted by the latest hunt. Zim, before his abandonment, hadn’t taken any time to really look at a planet’s sky before.

With nothing to do at night once Dib had fallen sleep, Zim found himself on the rooftop looking at the stars. It had always sat wrong with him. Seeing the sky at its fullest potential was always superior to whatever sad excuse was presented through the city lights. Zim looked back up that the stars. He hadn’t taken Dib to this forest yet—he had been saving it for a night just like this. Zim felt a weight on him. Dib had slumped over with a yawn, resting his head on Zim’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Zim.”

“Hm. You’re welcome, Dib.”


End file.
